How to Book China Train Tickets on 12306 as a Foreigner
Contents
- What Is 12306 and Can Foreigners Use It?
- How to Register on 12306 with a Foreign Passport
- How to Book a China Train Ticket on 12306 Step by Step
- Train Types and Seat Classes Explained
- Boarding with Your Passport: What Happens at the Station
- Refunds and Changes on 12306
- 12306 vs Trip.com: Which Should You Book With?
Show more
China's high-speed rail network reaches most major cities, and the cheapest way to book a seat is directly with the railway. 12306 is the official booking platform of China State Railway Group, and it now runs an English website and an English mode in its app. This guide covers registration with a foreign passport, identity verification, booking, payment, boarding and refunds, plus the cases where booking through Trip.com is the simpler option.
12306 (12306.cn) is the China Railway customer service and ticketing system. It sells the same seats at the same fares as station counters, with no booking fee, and lets you search live availability, buy, change and refund tickets online.
Foreign travelers can use it. The English site at www.12306.cn/en accepts valid foreign passports for registration and booking, while the Chinese-language version is built around Chinese ID cards. In the Railway 12306 app you can switch the language to English on first launch, or later in Settings.
| Official site | 12306.cn (English: 12306.cn/en) |
| Who can use the English site | Holders of valid foreign passports |
| Fares | Official railway fares, no booking fee |
| Payment | Chinese or foreign bank cards, Alipay, WeChat Pay |
| Advance sales | 15 days before departure |
| Online sales hours | 05:00 to 01:00 Beijing time; Tuesday 05:00 to 23:30 |
Two timing rules matter when you plan. Tickets normally go on sale 15 days before departure, and online sales run from 05:00 to 01:00 the next day Beijing time (05:00 to 23:30 on Tuesdays). Timetables and refunds are available 24 hours a day.
Since July 2026 China Railway has also been piloting a reservation service on more than 200 Beijing-Shanghai high-speed and conventional trains: you can submit a request 60 to 17 days before departure in the app, and the railway confirms orders 20 to 16 days ahead.
Registration takes about ten minutes, but identity verification can take longer when the system cannot match your passport automatically. Do it days before tickets open, not on the morning of sale.
- Open www.12306.cn/en, or install the Railway 12306 app and set the language to English.
- Select Register and choose your nationality. On the English site, only foreign passports are accepted.
- Type your name exactly as printed on the passport information page, in the surname and given-name fields in the order shown. Keep every given name; do not shorten or merge them.
- Enter the passport number without adding spaces or punctuation, plus the expiry date, date of birth and gender.
- Create a username and password, and add an email address for order notifications.
After registering, 12306 tries to verify your identity automatically. If that fails, you can upload a photo of the passport information page for manual review, or take the passport to a staffed ticket office at any railway station. Your status must show as verified, or ready to be verified, before you can buy.
Add everyone traveling with you under My Passengers, using the same passport details. Each passenger needs their own verified record.
Book with the passport you will actually carry. A renewed passport has a new number, and a booking made on the old one will not match the document at the gate.
Search by station, not by city. Beijing has Beijing, Beijing West, Beijing South and Beijing Chaoyang stations; Shanghai has Shanghai, Shanghai Hongqiao and Shanghai South. A train leaving from the wrong station can add an hour of city travel.
- Enter the departure and arrival station, the travel date and the number of passengers.
- Compare departures by time and journey length. High-speed services usually start with G, D or C.
- Select the passenger record and a seat class, then submit the order.
- Check five details before paying: travel date, departure station, arrival station, passenger name and passport number, and seat class.
- Pay online. 12306 accepts Chinese and foreign bank cards and mobile payment such as Alipay and WeChat Pay; the payment page shows which options apply to your order.
- Save the order number and train number as a screenshot, so you can find them at the station without mobile data.
The price shown before payment is the official fare. Some high-speed trains carry discounted fares on quieter departures, so the same route can cost slightly more or less depending on the train you choose.
The letter at the front of a train number tells you what kind of service it is, which matters more than the number itself when you compare options.
| Prefix | Service | Typical use |
| G | High-speed EMU, around 300 to 350 km/h | Long intercity trips such as Beijing to Shanghai |
| D | Higher-speed EMU, around 200 to 250 km/h | Routes and overnight sleepers where G trains do not run |
| C | Intercity EMU | Short hops between neighboring cities |
| Z | Direct express, conventional rail | Overnight trips with sleeper berths |
| T | Express, conventional rail | Slower daytime services with more stops |
| K | Fast, conventional rail | Cheap regional services |
On high-speed trains the three main classes are second class, first class and business class. Overnight conventional trains add sleepers.
| Class | Layout | Who it suits |
| Second class | 3+2 seats, standard legroom | Short and medium trips on a budget |
| First class | 2+2 seats, wider with more recline | Longer journeys where comfort matters |
| Business class | 1+2 or 1+1 seats, lie-flat on some trains | Business travel and overnight high-speed runs |
| Soft sleeper | Four berths in an enclosed compartment | Overnight trains, couples and families |
| Hard sleeper | Six berths in an open bay | Overnight trains on a budget |
Children aged 6 to 13 travel on a discount child ticket in the same class as the adult; children under 6 travel free without their own seat, one per paying adult. A child who needs a separate seat or berth pays the full fare.
China uses electronic tickets, so there is nothing to collect. The passport you booked with is your ticket.
Gates close before departure, so do not plan to arrive at the last minute. If you lose your passport, get a replacement or temporary travel document from your embassy or the local exit-entry authority, and ask at the station for a temporary railway ID certificate before boarding.
You can refund or change a ticket online until departure, and the fee depends on how close to departure you act. Each ticket can be changed only once.
| Time before departure | Refund fee |
| 8 days or more | No fee |
| 48 hours to under 8 days | 5% of the fare |
| 24 to under 48 hours | 10% of the fare |
| Under 24 hours | 20% of the fare |
| Minimum charge | RMB 2 per ticket |
| When you change | Change fee |
| More than 48 hours before departure | Free, for any train on sale |
| 24 to 48 hours before, same date or earlier | Free |
| 24 to 48 hours before, later date | 5% of the lower fare |
| Under 24 hours before, later date | 15% of the lower fare |
| After departure, same-day train | Free |
| After departure, next day or later | 40% of the lower fare |
Changing the arrival station is a separate service: request it at least 48 hours before departure, and once it is done the ticket cannot be changed again. Refunds return to the original payment method; tickets paid in cash are refunded at a station window.
If you book the wrong date by mistake, 12306 offers one free refund per order per day when you cancel within 30 minutes of payment and at least 4 hours before departure. The rule covers orders for travel from 2 February 2026 and is a correction window, not a general free-cancellation policy.
Both sell the same trains, including the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed route below. The difference is how much of the process you want to handle yourself.
| Aspect | 12306 | Trip.com |
| Interface | English site and app, some notices in Chinese | English throughout, including support |
| Payment | Chinese or foreign bank cards, Alipay, WeChat Pay | International cards and common travel wallets |
| Cost | Official fare, no booking fee | Official fare plus a service fee per ticket |
| After-sales | Self-service changes and refunds online | Changes and refunds handled through Trip.com support |
Use 12306 if your passport verification is done, you have a card or mobile wallet the site accepts, and you are comfortable managing changes and refunds yourself. Use Trip.com if you want an English checkout, international cards without a Chinese phone number, and support in your own time zone; the trade-off is a service fee and after-sales handled by Trip.com rather than the railway.
Neither route can skip identity rules or hold a sold-out seat. Around public holidays, book as soon as sales open, and check both the departure and arrival stations before paying.
Ready to compare departure times for your dates? Start with the China train tickets hub, search trains on Trip.com, read the full China train ticket guide, or check China visa requirements before you book.
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